The challenge

Commission 122 turbines with no grid power

A wind farm in the USA wanted 122 turbines constructed and fully operational within four months to qualify for a tax credit – a very tight timeframe. And it was made even trickier by the fact that grid power wasn’t scheduled for switch-on until later in the year.

To get these turbines commissioned in time for the tax credit, the wind farm needed a reliable source of backfeed power, and fast, so they called us in to help.

Project fact file

122

Turbines to test

3
MW

Temporary mini-grid

400
kW

Power per turbine

6,000
ft

Cabling

The solution

Shared expertise and a 3 MW mini grid

The temporary substation we designed was a team effort. We worked with load bank experts ComRent, the developer, the turbine manufacturer and the electrical engineer of record to hatch a plan that would meet the site’s commissioning needs. That is, 400 kW and six hours of run time per turbine. All 122 of them.

We quickly installed a 3 MW temporary mini-grid complete with generators, load banks, circuit breakers, transformers, fuel tanks and more than 6,000 feet of electrical cable. And we had a specialist on-site throughout the entire commissioning process, for monitoring and maintenance.

the aggreko difference

Working well with other experts to get the best results.

The impact

Testing a success and tax credit collected

With our temporary mini-grid in place, the wind farm could schedule commissioning 12 hours a day, six days a week. No time was lost in testing the turbines – the job was completed in the planned timeframe so the developers could claim their tax credit.

Working with ComRent, we created realistic conditions for the testing phase, so the wind turbines could be safely put through their paces in a very controlled environment. The outcome? A fully compliant wind farm that was 100% ready to go once the grid was connected.

“A great team effort. It goes to show how the right people working together can quickly get a complex power package installed in a remote environment."